Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-29
INJUSTICE OF SOCIALISM.
Its Purpose to Drag Men Down, Not Life
them Up to Level.


Socialists themselves maintain that
their system alone is equitable, and that
the present industrial methods are all
wrong, since they lead necessarily to Inc
quality in wealth and power and in the
means of happiness. The object of sol
Cialism is to put an end to these iGequaG1
ties, and to found q society in which
all would fare as nearly as possible alike
and this, as socialists maintain, would be
truly equitable and Just. But when we
inquire into the fundamental principles
of their system, we find the clement of
Justice COnspicuOusly absent Their
main principles are the ownership of all
means of production by the state, and
the payment of all wOrkmen according tb
what is assumed to be the rule of justice
This rule is expressed in the formula with
which all students Of the subject are fs-
miliar, 'from each according to his
ability, to teach according to MS
needs" According to this rule, a man
of superior talents or creative genius
would receive no higher recOmpense
than the most inefficient workman, and,
indeed, if the latter had larger family,
he would apparently receive more. Tie
obvious intent of this rule is to prevent
men of superior abilities from rising
above the mass, and socialists porcelain
that the privileges of higher intelligence
must fall with the privileges of wealth
and birth.
Such being the law of recompense in
the sOcialistic system, let US see hOWit
aCcords with the principles of justice 4s
commonly understood among men. To
determine this we must inquire hOW|a
man would be recompensed for his labor
if he worked all alone for himself. Sup
pose man on desert island, like Robin
son CruSoe, with no goods of any kind
except what he could Gull from the bosom
of nature or produce by his unassistfd
labor. In this case it is plain that his
wealth and prosperity would depend on
the ability and energy with which he
worked. If he titled twice as much
ground, he would raise twice as large a
crop; if he Contrived way to kill game
he would have it's flesh to eat; if ne lsid
by a store of food for the winter season,
he would have enough to eat, and if he
did not, he would suffer and perhsps
die of hunger; if he invented tools of
various kinds, he could produce vastly
more goods for his own use than he
could without them; and, in short, the
reward of his industry would dependOn
the intelligence and enterprise with
which he labOred in his own behalf. If
we suppose two or more men each living
on his own island, their comparative
gains would depend partly, indeed, on
the natural resources of the several
islands, but mainly on the comparative
skill and energy of the men themselves.
This truth is abundantly illustrated in
the life of nations. Why are Americans
and Euglishmen richer and more pros
porous than Russians and Turks, and
these latter more prosperous than HOtten-
tots and MaOris? Clearly because of the
greater intelligence and skill and the
higher moral qualities of the more pros
porous races; so that both of individuals
and of nations it is true that, when work
ing in their own behalf, they are recon-
pensed according to their abilities, and
not according to their needs.